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Sunday, October 11, 2009

Review: Paranormal Activity (2009)

Paranormal Activity
2009
86 minutes
Rated R

by Scott Mendelson

It is a rare thing to walk into a movie by choice expecting to dislike if not outright hate it. Yet off I went to a Saturday evening showing of Paranormal Activity, praying that it would not be a replay of The Blair Witch Projectten years prior. The ingredients were frighteningly similar. We had a no-budget horror film shot on a home video camera made to look like a documentary of real events, a reliance on implied terror and just off-screen menace that theoretically excused a lack of any actual scary imagery, and a carefully plotted advertising campaign that played up word of mouth from underground screenings and made the movie seem like an event that you had to experience before your friends did. But, the results are different this time. Maybe it's because I wasn't caught my surprise this time around, and thus I knew what I was getting into. Or maybe Paranormal Activity is just a better film than The Blair Witch Project. But while Paranormal Activity certainly is not the scariest film ever made, it also did not leave me with sharp feelings of anger, betrayal, and the distinct impression that the moviegoing populace had just been conned.

A token amount of plot - A young couple have recently moved in together into a new home, but they've been plagued by various loud noises and odd occurrences while they sleep. Determined to solve this mystery, the couple sets up a video camera in the corner of their bedroom to try to record some evidence of the mysterious goings-on. Needless to say, if they didn't happen to record some most disturbing stuff, then there would be no movie. But as the occurrences increase in quantity and quality, the young couple realize that this may be more complicated than a simple house-haunting. That's all you get and that's all you need. Unlike other critics, I won't reveal how much or how little you see or don't see. I won't tell you if the film relies purely on off-screen scares or actually has some creepy imagery. Unfortunately, the majority of the movie fails to truly terrify not because of its minuscule budget, but because of the film's strict adherence to its own rules. Horror films work best when you realize that you cannot trust the filmmakers. But writer/director Oren Peli crafts a low-tech chiller that almost plays too fair with the audience.

I hesitate to say more, because I don't want to spoil by implication (consider that a spoiler warning). But the film quickly sets a very specific pattern as to when the scares might come and when you can catch your breath. The very best scares (think the big jump-scenes in Jaws or Deep Blue Sea) usually come during 'time-out moments', when the plot and character seems to be developing in between horror set-pieces. But the world in Paranormal Activity is very strictly divided into 'potentially scary' and 'plot and character' scenes. Once that line is set in stone by the first third of the picture, we know that we will never, ever be caught off-guard. Furthermore (and this was a big issue with Blair Witch as well as the theatrical cut of One Hour Photo), the opening exposition basically establishes the fate of our major characters, so once again we understand that everything that happens until the end of the picture will be a false alarm of some kind.

Of course, one might find terror through empathizing with our young couple, but they aren't the least bit developed. While Katie Featherstein makes an empathetic victim as the primary target of terror, the male half (Micah Sloat) is written as annoying, unsympathetic, and occasionally counterproductive. Even more so than in The Blair Witch Project, the constant recording of every important moment of the narrative strains believability. So despite the ambitious ideas and somewhat successful execution, we are left with several false scares that all occur exactly on cue with very little to entertain us during the downtime (a wannabe ghost-buster provides rare comic relief).

Having said all of that, it's a more honest film that The Blair Witch Project. It won't make you dizzy, it's always in focus and easily audible at all times. The movie never really cheats and establishes a genuine filmmaking talent with just $11,000. If you must experience the would-be phenomenon, make sure to go to a packed theater, so you can at least enjoy the screams and shouts from more easily traumatized moviegoers. It's not a terribly scary film, but it is occasionally clever and it won't leave you feeling angry.

I completely agree that it was one of the most boring and stupid movies I have ever seen. It did leave me angry though because how in the world can anyone think this is scary, and also that I wasted $11. After watching it I feel like I deserve a refund for having to sit through that crap.

I don't know, maybe I saw a different movie, but a dumpy, sloppy passive-aggressive whiner isn't what I would call empathetic. I couldn't stand her. The boyfriend I had no problem with. He was annoying, but he pulled it off with at least a little charm.

Love or hate The Blair witch Project, there's no denying that it followed through on it's concept without waivering. Paranormal Activity is like the other Blair witch knockoffs (Cloverfield, REC, Zombie Chronicals), it's a conventional movie force fit into concept, and it seems stagy and forced.

The scary scenes were well done, but the rest didn't work...and that girl, sheesh she irritated the hell out of me.

**WORST MOVIE OF ALLLLL TIMES**** Ive NEVER writin reviews on anything but i had too about this movie.And i never go to theaters to watch movies I usually wait for movies to come out before seeing them.After all the buzz Paranormal activity created ,I had to see it in theaters since it was "The all time scariest movie!!".HA! It is HONESTLY the worst movie I have EVER seen! there is NOTHING creepy ,scary,or spooky about this movie.the ONLY thing happens through THE WHOLE MOVIE is when the guy flys back in the room WHICH THEY SHOW ON ALL TRAILORS AND COMMERCIALS for the movie! DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY OR TIME. I honestly believe they're paying people to write the excellent reviews and it was a big money gimic! !!DONT GO!! AND THE ONLY FOUR ACTORS IN THE WHOLE MOVIE ARE HORRIBLE!!! IF U GO AND WASTE YOUR MONEY DONT SAY I DIDNT WARN YOU! I read alot of bad reviews too. Didnt listen still went and wish i still had my 8$. DEFINATELY not worth it!MY LITTLE PONY IS SCARIER AND MORE CREEPY THEN THIS!!YOU THINK IM JOKING LOL!DONT BELIEVE ME FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF!AMY 25/FEMALE/BATON ROUGE,LOUISIANA

The above poster is the archetype of today's attention span-deficient American moviegoer. All caps, horrific grammar, and an a/s/l signoff - all telltale signs of an infantile thought process. I noticed plenty of people like her in the theater who became bored with the slow buildup and dialogue-driven plot and figured their time would be better spent texting than bothering to watch the movie they paid to see.

Paranormal Activity is far from the scariest movie of all time. I probably wouldn't even call it scary. But it is insidiously creepy and leaves you with an eerie, disturbing feeling of otherworldly discomfort long after you leave the theater. The power of suggestion is often far more frightening than any cheap Hollywood CGI trick. If your idea of horror is some hackneyed gorefest like the Saw series or some typically overdone genre like zombies or vampires then by all means stay away from Paranormal Activity. If you have two brain cells to rub together, however, and can appreciate the concept of the unseen and unexplained being as scary as the evident, get your ass down to the cinema now.

I just watched the movie online (StageVu) and the scene where the guy flies back into the camera wasn't even in the movie... only the previews. It was the full movie, not a cut. Did anyone else see this scene in the movie?

I didn't think it was a "bad" movie but I wouldn't recommend seeing it unless you really like the paranormal.

Hired the DVD from the local store, returned it 15 minutes later.That girl is the most annoying person i've ever seen, I only lasted some 5 minutes of her talking.Producers, such as these, ARE the reason piracy is on the increase. Who would want to fork out their hard earned dollars for this second rate garbage I don't know.I hope a lot of people download this movie, and send the production team bankrupt, as the producers making you pay for this movie is a crime in itself.

I was bored to death by this movie and had to stop watching after about an hour or so. I understand the concept of a slow buildup, but this was too slow. And often nothing happened. If this is an escalation that happened after they got a camera what possibly could have happened before? The female lead was unlikable and the male lead was a jerk. To be honest I was hoping they would die quickly.

I also was bothered by the character choices. The boyfriend is obviously upsetting the entity with his camera and he even gets a ouija board, but then he says not to do an exorcism because it could make things worse. I guess any religious aspect would not have been "in character" for these two.

You would be better served to watch a television show like 'Paranormal State' or even 'Ghosthunters' and at least you might get a little spontaneity.

The above poster is the archetype of today's attention span-deficient American moviegoer. All caps, horrific grammar, and an a/s/l signoff - all telltale signs of an infantile thought process. I noticed plenty of people like her in the theater who became bored with the slow buildup and dialogue-driven plot and figured their time would be better spent texting than bothering to watch the movie they paid to see.

Paranormal Activity is far from the scariest movie of all time. I probably wouldn't even call it scary. But it is insidiously creepy and leaves you with an eerie, disturbing feeling of otherworldly discomfort long after you leave the theater. The power of suggestion is often far more frightening than any cheap Hollywood CGI trick. If your idea of horror is some hackneyed gorefest like the Saw series or some typically overdone genre like zombies or vampires then by all means stay away from Paranormal Activity. If you have two brain cells to rub together, however, and can appreciate the concept of the unseen and unexplained being as scary as the evident, get your ass down to the cinema now.

**WORST MOVIE OF ALLLLL TIMES**** Ive NEVER writin reviews on anything but i had too about this movie.And i never go to theaters to watch movies I usually wait for movies to come out before seeing them.After all the buzz Paranormal activity created ,I had to see it in theaters since it was "The all time scariest movie!!".HA! It is HONESTLY the worst movie I have EVER seen! there is NOTHING creepy ,scary,or spooky about this movie.the ONLY thing happens through THE WHOLE MOVIE is when the guy flys back in the room WHICH THEY SHOW ON ALL TRAILORS AND COMMERCIALS for the movie! DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY OR TIME. I honestly believe they're paying people to write the excellent reviews and it was a big money gimic! !!DONT GO!! AND THE ONLY FOUR ACTORS IN THE WHOLE MOVIE ARE HORRIBLE!!! IF U GO AND WASTE YOUR MONEY DONT SAY I DIDNT WARN YOU! I read alot of bad reviews too. Didnt listen still went and wish i still had my 8$. DEFINATELY not worth it!MY LITTLE PONY IS SCARIER AND MORE CREEPY THEN THIS!!YOU THINK IM JOKING LOL!DONT BELIEVE ME FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF!AMY 25/FEMALE/BATON ROUGE,LOUISIANA

I completely agree that it was one of the most boring and stupid movies I have ever seen. It did leave me angry though because how in the world can anyone think this is scary, and also that I wasted $11. After watching it I feel like I deserve a refund for having to sit through that crap.

Because it is possible to re-edit essays after they have been posted, please feel free to alert me to any typos, grammar issues, and questions of factual accuracy, preferably by email and not in the comments section. And, also, since I often embed video clips, please let me know if any said clips are no longer functioning. Thanks.

About Me

The basics - 31 years old, married with two children, currently residing in Woodland Hills, CA. I am simply a longtime film critic and pundit of sorts, especially in the realm of box office. The main content will be film reviews, trailer reviews, essays, and box office analysis and comparison. I also syndicate myself at The Huffington Post, Valley Scene Magazine, and Open Salon.
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